UIC Applied Health Sciences Magazine - Summer 2023

UIC Applied Health Sciences

An appreciation for UIC motivates alumnus to establish scholarship for OT students

AHS faculty describe their work in transforming health care practice and social systems

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

The UIC College of Applied Health Sciences is committed to providing access and opportunity to students from many different backgrounds. We believe that a diverse health care workforce is essential to address the needs of the communities we serve and reduce the health disparities that keep underserved populations from living a healthy, self-determined life.

The June 29 Supreme Court decision on affirmative action does not change this. Our faculty and staff remain committed to training the best and most diverse health science researchers, clinicians and educators. Our alumni reach back with a helping hand to the students and young professionals who follow them.

This issue of AHS Magazine highlights some examples of this commitment.

After a long and successful career in health care and academic leadership, William Frey ‘71 OT endowed a scholarship fund to help students whose life experience or identity adds to the diversity of the occupational therapy profession. Cancer survivor and triathlete Marie Jarrell ‘87 PT, who received the UIC Alumni Association’s Humanitarian Award, started a nonprofit organization to give relatively small amounts that make a big difference to the recipients.

Our faculty research seeks answers to the problems facing underserved communities, including:

• health risks associated with “precarious work” (low pay, irregular hours, insecure contracts, no union representation)

• lack of support and disparities in income for families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

• the need for regular exercise to increase mobility and decrease risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older urban Latines.

As a Minority-Serving Institution, UIC welcomes students from multiple backgrounds and will continue to promote access, diversity, equity and inclusion within the allowable parameters established by law. We will continue to be an access-oriented, research-intensive Urban Serving University.

Our goal in the College of Applied Health Sciences has not changed.

UIC Applied Health Sciences Magazine

Summer 2023

EDITOR

Erika Chávez Director of marketing and communications

DESIGN

Heidi Schlehlein Webmaster and graphic designer

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Sonya Booth, Kelsey Schagemann, UIC News contributors

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

UIC Creative and Digital Services, UIC Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications

©2023 University of Illinois Chicago. All rights reserved. Published by the Office of the Dean, UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, 808 S. Wood St., 169 CMET, Chicago, IL 60612-7305.

Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor, the college or university.

Telephone (312) 996-6695

Fax (312) 413-0086

E-mail eachavez@uic.edu

Website ahs.uic.edu

You might notice abbreviations throughout this issue. They correlate to academic units and programs in the College of Applied Health Sciences.

AT Athletic Training

BHI Biomedical and Health Informatics

BHIS Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences

BVIS Biomedical Visualization

DHD Department of Disability and Human Development

Carlos J. Crespo Dean and professor College of Applied Health Sciences

DIS

EP Disability Studies

Exercise Physiology

HI Health Informatics

HIM Health Information Management

KINES Kinesiology

KN Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition

MLS Medical Laboratory Sciences

NUT Nutrition

OT Department of Occupational Therapy

PT Department of Physical Therapy

RS Rehabilitation Sciences

“We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity.”

— Desmond Mpilo Tutu

UIC Applied Health Sciences

Still image from an award-winning animated video by Hannah

Koffman '23 MS BVIS depicting a mast cell, a type of immune cell containing chemicals such as histamine within its granules (depicted in purple).

NOTEBOOK AHS News and Notes

PT graduate receives Alumni Association Humanitarian Award

Marie Jarrell ’87 BS PT believes in acts of kindness, large and small.

For her decades of good work, she was honored April 20 with the UIC Alumni Association’s 2023 Humanitarian Award.

A cancer survivor and triathlete, Jarrell has raised more than $100,000 over nearly 20 years to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For 16 years, she was head marathon coach in Illinois for its Team in Training program, preparing hundreds of athletes for their first marathon, half-marathon or triathlon participation in endurance sports events that raise funds for cancer research. The organization named her Training Volunteer of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

The nonprofit organization she started in her parents’ memory, the Sunbow Foundation, does good deeds by giving relatively small amounts that make a big difference to their recipients: day care funds for a mother going through chemotherapy; back taxes for a family about to lose their home; a prom dress for a young woman who couldn’t afford one; supplies to build a ramp for a child who uses a wheelchair.

As a physical therapist, Jarrell has worked in almost every clinical setting, including outpatient, acute care, home care, skilled nursing and acute inpatient rehabilitation. Since 2014, she has been program manager for continuous quality improvement at Briotix Health, which provides industrial sports medicine to businesses to prevent injury and keep workers healthy.

In 2021, Jarrell received the AHS Alumni Service Award.

Grad students, middle-schoolers collaborate on toy project

the direction of Glencoe District 35 teacher Clair Durkes.

Durkes and Stoffel arranged the collaboration between their students, who teamed up for a session to review and critique the designs. The UIC students returned to Glencoe three weeks later to score the final projects at the Toy Design Fair.

“It was fun and interesting, having conversations with them about their projects and listening to their thought processes in why they designed each toy the way they did,” said OTD student Galila Dandridge

When Glencoe middle-schoolers needed feedback in designing therapeutic toys for a STEM project, they partnered with a team of experts: 40 UIC occupational therapy doctoral students.

“The project was a great example of community engagement and OT advocacy,” said Ashley Stoffel, OT clinical associate professor.

The 58 Glencoe seventh and eighth graders were developing prototypes of toys to be used in occupational

therapy for children with cerebral palsy.

At the same time, in Stoffel’s class, “our OT students were learning about inclusive and universal design of toys and play spaces such as playgrounds,” she said. “So the toy fair project fit right in with our course objectives.”

The middle-school students were participating in Project Lead the Way, a nationwide program that supports STEM education, under

Explaining advanced concepts to the younger students was also a good learning experience for the doctoral students.

“I had to use my skills as an occupational therapist to assess the toy. However, I had to communicate my findings and suggestions in a language that was comprehensible to the students,” said OTD student Deeva Evangelista ’21 BS RS

“This was a great opportunity to learn how to communicate with future clients and caregivers as an occupational therapist,” added OTD student Vanessa Atter.

BVIS student's educational video captures campus prize

An animated video on the immune system’s response to allergens, created by Hannah Koffman ’23 MS BVIS, won first place in its category in the 2023 Image of Research competition sponsored by the UIC Graduate College and the University Library.

“Mast Cell Histamine Response,” intended for high school students, was created to be part of an educational video series on different aspects of the body’s inflammatory response.

“Hannah’s animation on the immune system response to allergens is a perfect example of the important role medical illustrators play in lowering the barriers to access medical knowledge,” said BVIS program director Leah Lebowicz

“Her target audience of high school students will access new knowledge in an engaging way and feel empowered to learn more.”

A multidisciplinary jury selected the winners from 75 submissions

to the contest. Koffman’s entry, along with the other winners, was displayed in an electronic exhibit in the lobbies of the Daley Library and the Library of the Health Sciences.

Koffman, who graduated in May, plans a career in 3-D biomedical animation.

Watch the animated video.

UIC occupational therapy students (left to right) Vanessa Atter, Cassandra Pagliaruli (back), Deeva Evangelista, Janelly Macias-Martinez and Galila Dandridge.

Electronic records may create hidden bias in clinical trials

The results of some clinical trials may not be broadly applicable if they are based on data from electronic health records, which may exclude people from underrepresented and underserved groups.

Reliance on electronic records is “almost a hidden form of bias,” explained Andrew Boyd, BHIS associate professor and lead author of a commentary published in “Contemporary Clinical Trials.”

Embedded pragmatic clinical trials, which test the effectiveness of medical interventions in real-world settings, rely heavily on electronic health records for data. Researchers see this as a way to include more diverse participants than traditional clinical trials, which use laboratory conditions and have stricter rules about who is eligible.

However, there are two major problems with this approach, Boyd said:

• electronic medical records don’t exist for people without access to health care, so these people are entirely omitted from the studies

• when clinical trials ask participants to self-report systems through a patient portal, some can’t fill out the questionnaires because of difficulties with internet access, language or education level.

The exclusion of these groups becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that continues to increase health inequities, Boyd said. This is especially problematic as artificial intelligence algorithms become more common in medical decision-making, he added.

The authors of the commentary suggest researchers take extra steps to recruit participants without electronic health records or easy access to the internet. They also advise working with community groups to make sure questionnaires are understandable and reflect participants’ life experiences and identities.

Besides Boyd, authors include nursing professor Judith Schlaeger, senior author; nursing professor Crystal Patil; nursing student Juanita Darby; and biomedical informatics student Jonathan Leigh.

Read the journal article.

Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin

Celebrating Accessible Juneteenth

There was music, food, information and fun in the UIC Quad June 17 at the third annual Accessible Juneteenth, a celebration of Black people with disabilities.

The event was held to “elevate and raise awareness and lift up the voices, concerns, issues, joys and culture of disabled people of color,” explained Jae Jin Pak, coordinator of community education in the Institute on Disability and Human Development, in an interview with the “Chicago Tribune.”

Pak and co-lead organizer Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon Jr. ’19 MS DHD, research associate in the institute, said they established the celebration to create a safe space for disabled people of color.

“We’re proud of our multiple identities,” Gordon told the Tribune. “And we’ll continue to build our communities, our nation, and the world with our many talents. And we’ll con tinue to brag about it just like we brag about being Black and proud in general.”

Campus sponsors for Acces sible Juneteenth included the Institute on Disability and Human Development and the Disability Cultural Center. Chicago-area sponsors includ ed the Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, Access Living and the Chicago Disability Pride Parade.

The event was also supported by a grant from Whole Foods.

Medical rehabilitation association honors OT, DHD professor

Susan Magasi ’02 MS OT, ’05 PhD DS, associate professor of OT and DHD, was named a 2023 fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

The honor is given to active members of the organization who have made contributions of national significance in medical rehabilitation.

A proponent of community-based participatory research, Magasi devises and tests smart-phone apps to help people with disabilities gain access to health care, including peer support and self-managed care.

She is principal investigator for a five-year National Institutes of Health-funded project, mENTER,

that is developing a remote app for a peer navigator program that helps people with newly acquired physical disabilities transition to community living.

Previous projects include the WeCanManage app for cancer survivors, funded by the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, and OP-ENS, a program for peer health navigators to help Illinois Medicaid beneficiaries access its medical and insurance system.

Magasi, who was named AHS Researcher of the Year in 2022, received a 2023 Meritorious Service Award from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. She is OT associate department head.

Victoria Boateng plays the djemba. Boateng is a teacher and performer of West African drums, including the djembe and dunun.

Nutrition scientist named UIC Distinguished Researcher of the Year

KN professor Krista Varady, who studies the effectiveness and health benefits of intermittent fasting diets in treating obesity, was named UIC Distinguished Researcher of the Year in the Clinical Sciences.

The award was announced March 15 by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Office of Technology Management.

“Her research clearly has assisted a vast number of individuals in losing weight and lowering their risk of heart disease and diabetes,” said colleague Lisa Marie Tussing-Humphreys, KN associate professor, in nominating Varady for the award.

Since 2008, Varady has studied intermittent fasting, also called time-restricted eating (eating without calorie constraints for a defined time period each day, followed by a defined period of fasting) as an alternative to calorie-restrictive weight loss diets.

Her research found that time-restricted eating produced significant weight loss in people with obesity. A recent study showed that intermittent fasting combined with exercise is an effective treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Another study found no negative effects in the levels of certain reproductive hormones for pre- and post-menopausal women.

A widely sought keynote speaker at scientific meetings, she produces 10 to 15 published papers a year. Her first book, “The Every Other Day Diet,” published in 2014, has sold over 500,000 copies. Her next book, “The Fastest Diet,” will be published in 2023.

Other awards Varady has received include AHS Researcher of the Year, the American Society for Nutrition’s Mead Johnson Young Investigator Award and the Malaspina Scholar Award of the International Life Sciences Institute.

Read an NPR article on Varady’s latest study, which finds that intermittent fasting is as effective as counting calories for weight loss.

New AHS development director ready to drive mission forward

Pasek has more than 15 years of experience in higher education development, including advancement research, corporate relations, annual fund and major gifts.

She secured more than $52 million, primarily for faculty support, during her nine years at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where she was senior director of development for the College of Letters & Science and the departments of economics and art history. She worked with faculty, administrators and board members in the university’s $4 billion-plus fundraising campaign.

At Northwestern, Pasek helped build a university-wide annual fund campaign and a reunion giving program that achieved an unprecedented 46% alumni participation.

Torine Pasek, who worked in higher education fundraising at the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University, now leads AHS advancement as the college’s senior director of development.

“I’m inspired by the work being done within AHS,” said Pasek, who joined the college March 16. “I feel the mission and goals align with my passion for health and addressing the most pressing and immediate needs in our communities.”

Pasek earned a bachelor’s in history and French from Moravian College and a master’s in history from Loyola University Chicago.

She is also a member of the UIC Advancement Management Team and senior director of development for the Jane Addams College of Social Work.

“I’m thrilled to partner with talented faculty, campus leaders, and help drive the mission and vision of UIC forward,” she said.

OT professor honored for research in children’s disability

OT professor Mary Khetani was named to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s 2023 Roster of Fellows, an award that honors occupational therapists who have achieved a long history of contributions to the profession, the association and consumers of OT services.

A pediatric occupational therapist and rehabilitation scientist, Khetani is director of the Children’s Participation in Environment Research Laboratory. CPERL uses technology to build tools that help improve young children’s participation in activities at home, school and in community life.

She is a scientist with CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research in Ontario, Canada, a hub for interdisciplinary research and knowledge translation in childhood disability worldwide.

Other honors she’s received include the UIC Honors College Capstone Adviser of the Year Award, the AHS Researcher of the Year Award and the Motivator Award from the Chicago chapter of the Association for Women in Science.

Visit cperl.ahs.uic.edu to learn more about the multi-site, interdisciplinary research and product development projects.

Fulbright fellowship to study disability and dance

She will study arts pedagogy in the university’s dance program. Kaaos Company, an inclusive dance group in Helsinki, will be a field site for her dissertation.

Erlikh was awarded a 2022 Finlandia Foundation National fellowship for previous dissertation research in Finland.

“My time in Finland will be a culmination of what I have learned as an educator, dancer, choreographer and scholar,” she said.

growth of dance artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Carrie Sandahl, DHD professor, director of the Program on Disability Art, Culture and Humanities, and Erlikh’s graduate adviser.

“Her work is already making an impact on a national and international level. She is poised to make a significant contribution to the fields of dance and disability studies with a commitment to social justice.”

Sydney Erlikh, a PhD candidate in disability studies, received a Fulbright fellowship to continue her research on disability and inclusive dance at the University of the Arts Helsinki in Finland.

Erlikh is a former special education teacher in New York City and California and a Dance Ability certified teacher. She co-founded an inclusive dance workshop series at Access Living Chicago, funded by a Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellowship.

“Sydney is one of a very few artist/ scholars devoted to supporting the

Erlikh was a SeeChicagoDance Critical Writing Fellow. She participated in Harvard Mellon School of Theater and Performance Studies Research conferences in 2021 and 2022.

Other professional activities include the National Dance Education Organization’s dance and disability task force and the planning committee for CounterBalance, Chicago’s annual integrated dance concert.

Book examines injustice from perspective of people with

disabilities, their caregivers

A new book by Akemi Nishida, DHD assistant professor, analyzes social justice and injustice in health care as experienced by people with disabilities and their caregivers.

“Just Care: Messy Entanglements of Disability, Dependency, and Desire,” was published last summer by Temple University Press.

“My book analyzes the challenges people negotiate whether they are situated as caregivers, receivers, or both,” Nishida explained in an online interview with the City University of New York’s School of Professional Studies, where she earned a PhD in critical social-personality psychology.

Nishida, also a UIC assistant professor of gender and women’s studies, combines disability studies, critical race theory and feminism in her research, education and activism.

She is a member of Advance Your Leadership Power, a community organizing group of Access Living, and a consultant to the Transgender Law Center’s Disability Project.

She was named to the 2020 Hall of Fame of the National Disability Mentoring Coalition.

At UIC, Nishida is a member of the Chancellor’s Committee for Status of Persons with Disabilities and an Asian American Resource and Cultural Center ambassador.

‛Precarious work’ may cause poor health

“Precarious work”—employment with low pay, irregular hours, insecure contracts and no union representation—may contribute to higher body mass index and increased risk of chronic disease, according to a study by AHS nutrition researchers.

The study led by Vanessa Oddo, KN assistant professor, adds to a growing body of evidence that precarious work may be related to poor health outcomes.

“Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of Americans engaging in precarious work—we see this with the rise of the ‘gig’ economy or the number of people working for ride-share companies, for example,” said Oddo, an epidemiologist whose research focuses on the social and economic determinants of nutrition-related health.

“With millions of Americans now engaging in precarious work, we need to pay closer attention to the health impacts of this type of employment.”

The researchers analyzed 20 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth adult cohort (1996–

2016). The average age of the participants was 44.

They found that indicators of precarious employment were highest among Latine and Black women with lower education. A 1-point increase in precarious employment was associated with a 2.18-point increase in BMI.

“These modest changes in BMI may have important implications at the population level, given that small changes in weight affect chronic disease risk,” the researchers wrote in the study, published in the journal “Obesity.”

“Policies and workplace interventions to improve employment quality warrant consideration to protect American workers and mitigate the growing burden of obesity-related chronic diseases in the United States.”

Read the full study.

Recognized for work on intellectual disability

DHD clinical assistant professor

Lieke van Heumen ’15 PhD DHD, whose work focuses on aging with disability, is among five researchers named 2023 fellows of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Fellows are selected for their contributions to the field of intellectual disability and their participation in the association. She was honored at the group’s annual meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Van Heumen is co-investigator with Kelly Hsieh, DHD research associ-

ate professor, for a study on the use of mHealth in promoting physical activity for adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. The study is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

She was principal investigator on a three-year Special Olympics International project related to research and evaluation translation and dissemination.

She has been honored for teaching at UIC, including the Teaching Recognition award and the AHS Excalibur Award for Teaching Excellence.

Online HIM bachelor’s moves up to No. 2

place for 2022. This year, it tied for second place with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide.

The AHS program teaches students to manage and use information and information systems for health care planning, resource allocation and executive decision-making.

“Over the past decade of existence of the online bachelor completion program, we have watched our students develop careers in this growing industry,” said Felecia Williams ’99 BS HIM, assistant professor and program director.

The AHS online bachelor’s degree program in health information management is ranked second in the nation for 2023 by U.S. News & World Report.

The ranking also includes two other UIC online bachelor’s programs, in business administration and nursing.

It’s the 11th year the programs have appeared among the top in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report Best Online Bachelor’s Programs. UIC was ranked in third

“We are proud to note that the knowledge our graduates have of information governance, technology and patient privacy and security continues to make them key stakeholders at decision-making venues and on committees.”

U.S. News & World Report ranked 381 schools offering online bachelor’s degrees based on four general criteria, including engagement, student services and technologies, faculty credentials and training, and expert opinion.

Students’ success a highpoint for UIC Silver Circle winner

“It brings me joy to be part of their journey,” says KN clinical instructor Amy Jandek ’01 MS KINES about her role as teacher.

For her devotion to her students, AHS graduating seniors picked Jandek to receive the 2023 Silver Circle Award, a campuswide honor given to one faculty member in each college.

Jandek, who joined the AHS faculty in 2016, teaches courses in athletic training, sports injuries and athletic programming. She is part of the Experiential Learning team and supervises undergraduate teaching assistants and a special research projects class.

Most of her students are headed towards a career in physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training or medicine, so she favors a mix of active teaching methods like small group discussion, quiz games, flipped classrooms and project-based learning.

“I try to change something each academic year to see what works best and discover better ways to reach all students,” she says.

Before joining the faculty in 2016, Jandek was coordinator of the Human Performance Lab in UIC Campus Recreation and head athletic trainer at Streamwood High School. She still works as a certified athletic trainer “because there are too many jobs and not enough athletic trainers to cover all the events.” She shares her real-life experience with students to augment their textbook learning.

There may be a generational gap between her and her students, but “I find there is so much to learn from each other, and I try to find the humor in the differences,” Jandek says.

“Being part of the students' academic journey and seeing many of them get accepted into graduate school, following their dreams, and becoming successful is the highpoint of my career.”

Curb Appeal gallery showcases disability culture

Sandy Guttman ’22 MS DHD, who describes herself as an “able-bodied ally” of people with disability, has opened a Chicago art gallery that will host events and exhibitions for artists and organizations concerned with disability culture.

Curb Appeal, founded by Guttman and her husband, Todd Garon, is located in their storefront apartment in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood near 24th Street and Oakley Avenue. The gallery was featured in an article in the March 17 “Chicago Reader.”

“As an organization, we are interested in the intersection of art and accessibility,” they explain on the gallery’s website.

“We draw inspiration from the neighborhood topology of our historic storefront space and its visibility to the community in which we are sited. Our large windows and sidewalk stoop encourage passersby to peer in as well as invite themselves into our live/workspace.

“Grounded in the idea of ‘home’ with an ethic of accessibility, Curb Appeal reimagines what both an apartment and a gallery can be.”

Guttman wants Curb Appeal to become a hub for collaboration among artists in disability culture.

The gallery’s first exhibition, “Perspective,” was a sound and video work by composer and musician Molly Joyce. The audiovisual installation blends excerpts from 40 interviews about disability with Joyce’s musical compositions recorded on a vintage electric toy organ.

A subsequent exhibition featured a portrait series by Genevieve Ramos, a visual artist, disability advocate and activist. Ramos was awarded a 2022 residency fellowship from 3Arts/Bodies of Work, a partnership led by DHD, the UIC Disability Cultural Center, Access Living and the School of the Art Institute.

Guttman, who also earned an MA in museum and exhibition studies at UIC, is the performance and public programs project manager at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Paintings by Genevieve Ramos on exhibit at Curb Appeal, left to right: Candace Coleman, Reveca Torres, Sandie (Chun-Shan) Yi, Michelle Garcia (all acrylic on canvas, 2022-2023).

Photo: Sandy Guttman

To the UIC Applied Health Sciences Class of 2023

“The education that you have received here in our college has trained you to provide preventative and rehabilitative care, apply technological advancements to improve health outcomes, and transform health care practice and social systems, all with the utmost respect for the dignity of humanity. Your journey does not end here. Your true calling continues as you move to the next stage of your career. We believe in you.”

- Carlos Crespo Dean and professor, UIC College of Applied Health Sciences

Full circle gratitude

An appreciation for UIC motivates alumnus to establish scholarship for OT students.

Although it’s been five decades since William Frey ’71 BS OT first stepped onto the UIC campus, he can recall details of the occupational therapy program with vivid clarity.

“I had patients on the burn unit and in the Alzheimer’s unit; I had patients in the acute psychiatric area,” Frey says. “I remember one man who had drunk a bottle of olive oil. No one could figure out why, but I discovered he was from a very conservative church, and it was his attempt to anoint himself.”

These early formative experiences helped prepare Frey for a fulfilling career spanning clinical work, hospital leadership, higher ed administration and faculty positions. In recognition of his accomplishments, the College of Applied Health Sciences honored Frey with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 2016.

“I’ve often thought about how fortunate I was because the breadth of knowledge I got in the OT program served me so well,” Frey says.

Frey’s appreciation for his undergraduate education helped spur his decision to establish an endowed scholarship for OT students. The Jackson-Frey Scholarship for Occupational Therapy also honors Frey’s late wife, Carol Jackson ’71 BS OT, whom he met in the program.

“Carol was an exceptional clinician, and wherever we relocated, she found significant work and ways to

gratitude

contribute to the profession, including chairing the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Children’s Hospital in Columbus,” Frey says. “We were very much partners, and the marriage was a loving partnership for 42 years until death parted us.”

Finding the right focus

When Frey established the endowed scholarship in 2017, he wanted to provide support for veterans like himself. During the Vietnam War, Frey joined the Army Medical Specialist Corps, earning the rank of captain.

But when it became clear over the years that few students qualified for the scholarship based on those criteria, Frey changed course.

Today, the scholarship includes a secondary focus on OT students with financial need whose life experience or identity adds to the diversity of the profession.

“It’s important that minorities or other people who are less represented in the profession see themselves in therapy roles,” Frey says. “The more we can encourage these students, the better.”

Frey hopes potential donors understand they can work with AHS to create a scholarship that matches their own philanthropic passions, while recognizing the benefits of broadening the scholarship’s scope if necessary. By being flexible with his giving priorities, Frey stayed true to his overall goal of helping OT students graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to enhance the field.

The power of immediate impact

The college offers many different ways to support scholarships, including scholarships funded through an individual’s estate plan, but Frey is grateful his scholarship is being disbursed now.

“Often, people hold onto their money until they die, and then someone benefits through their will,” he says.

“I feel privileged to hear from these students while I’m still living. To have people tell you how you’ve impacted their lives— it’s really quite profound.”

The endowment usually funds two $2,000 awards annually. Each year, Frey receives letters from the recipients.

He gets to know students like Esmeralda Montelongo ’23 MS OT, a queer woman of color raised in a low-income household. Montelongo decided to study occupational therapy after watching her father struggle with the physical and mental effects of dementia. Esmeralda Montelongo

Scholarship recipient Sara Weldy ’23 MS OT, who identifies as disabled, says enrolling in the OT master’s program was the best but most expensive decision she’s ever made.

Frey is pleased his fund is making an immediate impact. At the same time, by creating a scholarship through an endowment, his generosity will continue in perpetuity.

Donors can write a personal statement to share with scholarship applicants. For clinical professor emerita Gail Fisher ’17 PhD, ’80 BS OT, who recently established a scholarship for OT students, building this bridge between past, present and future was important.

“As a potential donor, it was appealing knowing that not only my name would live on, but also my story,” Fisher says. “I wrote about how my grandparents didn’t finish high school;

my parents didn’t go to college. But I had these educational opportunities, and I wanted to give back. I wanted to give students a message of encouragement. It helped me feel like 50 years from now, I’m not some random name. Students will have access to my story.”

An invitation to change lives

When Frey and Fisher decided to create scholarships, they intentionally followed in the footsteps of donors they admired like the late Barbara Loomis, associate professor emerita.

“Anytime I see people giving back, it’s an inspiration,” Frey says. “It’s something we should all take note of.”

During her 34 years at UIC, Fisher saw firsthand how support from alumni like Frey made a difference to students. She was thrilled to do the same for future OT practitioners.

“Scholarships help students feel seen,” Fisher says. “They may feel less pressured to get a job while they’re on full-time fieldwork. They have a little bit of a cushion, knowing their loan debt is reduced with that scholarship.”

Frey hopes to motivate other alumni and friends to give back to UIC because, no matter the amount, it’s the cumulative generosity of all donors that transforms students’ lives. He urges graduates from any AHS program to consider the legacy they would like to leave—and remember the educational experiences that contributed to their own personal and professional success.

“At a certain age, you realize it’s time to give back and help someone else along,” he says. “Because I would not have had the confidence to explore and choose opportunities that came my way without the foundational education I got at UIC.”

“This scholarship is easing the financial burden so that I can focus on my fieldwork placements during my last semester of school.”

Sarah Weldy ’23 MS OT

William Frey and Barbara Loomis in her home, October 2016.

THE AHS ANNUAL FUND

Donating to the AHS Annual Fund means you’re giving with full confidence–allowing the college to use the funds when and where they are most needed. Unrestricted gifts provide the college’s leadership with the ability to address urgent financial concerns in a timely matter.

Donations to the annual fund support

•  student scholarships and awards

•  student-, faculty- and staff-led efforts

•  improvements to academic and clinical facilities

•  groundbreaking research and scholarship

When you donate to the AHS Annual Fund, you are demonstrating your belief in the college’s mission and its people.

Donate online at ahs.uic.edu/support or contact Torine Pasek at torine@uic.edu or 312-996-1339.

In their own words

What will happen to Ray? Improving lives for people with disabilities and their families

AHS faculty conduct life-changing research and scholarship to eradicate health disparities, improve clinical outcomes, dismantle barriers, and create real and lasting solutions that make a positive difference in our communities—and the world. Use the QR codes to see videos of each researcher as they describe their work in transforming health

practice and

social

systems.

care

“Both parents of adults with IDD and the adults with IDD experience disparities in health status and in income. Nearly half a million adults with IDD are on waiting lists for residential supports. Also, many families do not plan for the future, resulting in chaos, emergency placements and traumatic transitions. Through the research of our previous and current federally funded centers in our Institute on Disability and Human Development, we have not only documented these disparities but also developed and widely disseminated evidenced-based interventions.”

Tamar Heller

Distinguished professor and head, Department of Disability and Human Development

Director, Developmental Disabilities Family Clinic go.uic.edu/DDFC

Director, Institute on Disability and Human Development idhd.ahs.uic.edu

Targeting inflammation to improve diabetic wound healing

“In the U.S., over eight million people suffer from chronic wounds, and direct health care costs for diabetic wounds run close to $80 billion per year. Over 50% of diabetic foot ulcers will become infected and up to 20% of these will result in amputations of a toe, foot, and eventually, the entire leg. The five-year death rate of people suffering a diabetic foot ulcer is approximately 30%, and over 50% for those who had to undergo amputation. These death rates are on par with some of the most serious forms of cancer.”

Timothy Koh

Professor

, kinesiology and nutrition

Moving in a culturally relevant way

“What if you don’t have any experience with our views of traditional exercise? What if you don’t feel safe ‘just walking your neighborhood’? This is the experience of many older Latino adults, a demographic that is rapidly growing in size, and the same demographic with Alzheimer’s disease rates projected to increase by 832% by 2060. The Exercise Psychology Lab in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition has been studying the topic of physical activity in the form of Latin dance among older Latinos since 2007. Our research shows that regular dancing increases overall physical activity participation, mobility, and aspects of cognition such as memory.”

David X. Marquez

Professor, kinesiology and nutrition Director, Exercise Psychology Lab epl.ahs.uic.edu

Biomechanics for equity

“My goal is to eliminate disparities by replacing subjectivity with objective biomechanical tools to personalize care. Using the same motion analysis technology used in Hollywood for special effects, I work to understand how we can use biomechanics to predict and improve patient-oriented osteoarthritis outcomes, including successful joint replacements, improving physical activity and preventing falls. I have identified specific gait characteristics that predict the likelihood of a good surgical outcome with high sensitivity and specificity. These same gait characteristics can ultimately be used to inform rehabilitation or even pre-rehabilitation to optimize people for surgery and make a good outcome that much more likely. This will remove subjectivity from the surgical decision-making process and ideally result in more equitable outcomes.”

Kharma Foucher

Associate

professor, kinesiology and nutrition Director, Biomechanics and Clinical Outcomes Lab bacos.ahs.uic.edu

Data simplification to improve clinical outcomes

“As health care providers we all use different terms, but as a health system, we need data science that works to better understand these differences, allowing us to organize teams that are able to integrate and understand diagnostics and treatment team decisions. Our ultimate goal is to provide accurate and clear information that empowers patients and their loved ones to make correct decisions about treatment that resonate with their unique lived experience, cultural values and personal priorities. Machine learning and artificial intelligence have the capacity to help health care professionals do this, but only if the data used are simplified, and only if it accurately captures the diversity of patient support systems and health care knowledge among the different professions.”

Andrew Boyd

Associate professor, biomedical and health information sciences, physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences

“When I became an occupational therapist 20 years ago, children’s ‘health’ was no longer defined as absence of disease, but rather a state of being occupied in activities they need and want to do to orchestrate their lives. I grew restless with curiosity about engaging families struggling to support their child’s participation in ‘ordinary’ activities like mealtime, bedtime and bath time. I chased my curiosity into a scientific space where I learned how to team up and rigorously tinker with solutions that led to Participation and Environment Measure, a suite of evidence-based and versatile tools to strengthen services and save resources.”

Mary Khetani

Professor, occupational therapy

Director, Children’s Participation and Environment Research Lab cperl.ahs.uic.edu

“How can our health care system improve disease management and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors outside of hospital settings? How can we engage and empower people to care for themselves and self-manage their condition at home? How can we help people live well and stay out of the hospital? Mobile technologies have already transformed the social and professional fabrics of our lives. They are now poised to profoundly influence health care. The ability to monitor our bodies and gather large amounts of data about human physiology creates new and exciting possibilities for both biomedical research and clinical practice.”

Spyros Kitsiou

Associate professor, biomedical and health information sciences

Priming the brain

“We use advanced brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation in our lab to understand neuroplasticity or brain reorganization after stroke and other brain injuries. My research shows that there are certain traits in brain structure and function, and not only that, but also genetic characteristics which determine how patients respond to rehabilitation. Understanding these individual differences is the next direction we are heading towards. Understanding these individual patterns of learning is going to enable us to develop more successful interventions that are patient-centric for brain reorganization and walking recovery.”

Sangeetha Madhavan

Professor, physical therapy, rehabilitation sciences

Director, Brain Plasticity Lab bpl.ahs.uic.edu

Creating environments to understand and improve children’s participation in life

Improving health outcomes in patients with chronic conditions through mobile interventions

Experience as theory

“My work aligns with the post-positive realists who propose that lived experience begets social theory. They believe that from their outsiders’ perspectives, marginalized people have unique vantage points through which to understand unjust social systems. By comparing our theories with one another, we can hone and revise them, thereby creating a more complete picture of how systemic oppression operates and how to develop strategies for dismantling it.”

Carrie Sandahl

Professor, disability and human development Director, Program on Disability Art, Culture and Humanities

Revolutionizing anatomy and physiology education: introducing innovative tools

“My goal is to provide the best learning experience for our students. I realized that professors’ teaching experience is in direct relation with students’ learning experience. In other words, if you enhance one, then the other can benefit as well.”

Tomer Kanan

Clinical associate professor, kinesiology and nutrition Director

, undergraduate anatomy and physiology,

Are falls inevitable or preventable?

“Each year, three million older people are treated in emergency rooms for fall injuries in the U.S. The cost for treating these injuries is projected to be over $101 billion by 2030. A single session in our lab works like a vaccine. It helps prevent falls for a year or more.”

Tanvi Bhatt

Professor, physical therapy, rehabilitation sciences Director, Cognitive Motor Balance Rehabilitation Laboratory cmbrl.ahs.uic.edu

PEOPLE AHS Alumni Highlights

Editor’s note: in this section, we feature AHS alumni who reach back with a helping hand to hire other alumni.

Doherty Nutrition LLC

“Kirsten Straughan (KN clinical assistant professor) was instrumental in getting our company to where it is today. She trusted me, believed in me and genuinely cared about my future, which enabled me to start my journey as an entrepreneur. Among the original team I hired was my best friend from UIC, Krista Jensema. We love our clients, love working with each other, and love food. It reminds me of the UIC master's in nutrition program.”

Maggy Doherty ’16 MS NUT, owner, registered dietitian

Orange Shoe

“We meet our clients where they are on their journeys and provide the foundation to assist in the achievement of healthy outcomes. AHS inspired me to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for ALL, both my staff and clients. I consider AHS the leader in the industry, and the staff and interns I've hired from AHS have been pre pared, met knowledge expecta tions and seem to fall in line with our culture and values quickly.”

“Working at Doherty Nutrition has provided an amazing career experience. I've had the opportunity to utilize the knowledge I gained from the master's in nutrition coordinated program, while learning additional skills. Working with a fellow alumna has made this experience so much fun, it is hard to call it work!"

“My goal of assisting people to live healthy lives led me to work at Orange Shoe. I not only help individuals become physically fit, but provide them with strategies to stay healthy. At AHS, I was fortunate to meet professors and others who were advocates of critical thinking, innovation and empathy. My goal is to continue to develop my healthy living practitioner skills, approaching primary prevention from a holistic point of view to help individuals achieve a better health span.”

Krista Jensema ’17 MS NUT, pediatric registered dietitian

Wade Anderson ’07 MS KINES, co-owner, fitness professional

Ibraheem Oguntade ’14 BS KINES, ’21 MS KINES, fitness professional

React Physical Therapy

“We challenge our PTs to treat the most challenging patients, patients who have not had success at other PT practices and patients with multiple diagnoses. I had a great experience at UIC, which prepared me to be a lifelong student of my craft. We have had great success with UIC alumni. The foundation of the PT education you receive at UIC is second to none.”

David Reavy ’98 BS PT, owner

“Both AHS and React Physical Therapy put patients first. Through AHS, you get not only a great education, but experiences outside the classroom in diversity, collaboration, in clusion and creativity. These are extremely applicable in the real world but cannot be taught from a textbook. AHS does a great job instilling these values.”

John Kim ’10 BS KINES, ’14 DPT, clinic director, physical therapist

Amicus Visual

“At Amicus, we focus on translating and communicating medical knowledge to nonmedical audiences to help individuals and families find justice and conciliation. AHS is at the cutting edge of technology and contem porary visual communication. And because UIC is in an urban setting of diverse ethnic backgrounds, graduates gain exposure to viewpoints and methodologies that allow them to connect to a greater range of audiences.”

Michael Havranek ’00 MS BVIS, owner, chief medical illustrator

“React has a culture of professionalism, commitment and community. The mission is to make patients feel better than they ever felt, in a way that is specific to their lifestyle. The therapists are continuously teaching and perfecting their own skills.

Being able to learn from the success of another AHS alumnus is unique in itself. That success has shaped my confidence in my own accom-

Elijah Cortez ’21 BS RS,

“Our mission is to create trial exhibits that accurately and clearly present important medical information for every case. Being able to work with fellow BVIS alumni is great because we are all equipped with the same tools and knowledge for creative problem-solving, always keeping our audiences in mind.”

Regan Falin ’21 MS BVIS, medical illustrator

Blue Bird Day

“My time at AHS provided me with a strong foundation to begin my career as an occupational therapist. A special shout-out to Gary Kielhofner for instilling the importance of scholarship in practice, which continues to support my work in connecting research to everyday practice. I have enjoyed staying connected through stu dents, guest lectureships and other class partnership opportunities.”

“AHS introduced me to a variety of health care specialties. As leader at a multidisciplinary clinic, I see firsthand the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to provide innovative, client-centered care.”

“My AHS education fostered my interest in research and data collection, which supports my work in program development. We utilize daily data collection and proprietary developmental hierarchies to track our clients' progress toward their therapeutic goals.”

“My degree prepared me for my role as collaborator, ally and advocate—empowering families and clients to access the services and training they need.”

Laura Mraz ’10 MS OT, ’11 OTD, CEO and founder, occupational therapist

Monal Patel ’13 MS OT, clinic director, occupational therapist

Alexa Greif ’13 MS OT, ’18 OTD, director of program development, occupational therapist

Ainsley Adique ’19 BS DHD, registered behavior technician/therapist

Plan your legacy and invest in the future of the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences today

We are continually strengthened by the generosity of our dedicated alumni and friends. As you reflect upon your goals and consider your legacy, we hope that you will include a deferred gift for AHS as part of your estate plan.

Key questions to ask as you consider your deferred gift:

• How do you want to provide for yourself and your family?

• What impact would you like to make at AHS?

• What tax advantages can you expect as you consult with your financial advisor and/or attorney?

Deferred gifts are some of the simplest, most flexible and popular methods of supporting AHS. They include naming the University of Illinois Foundation (Tax ID 37-6006007), for the benefit of AHS, as a beneficiary through instruments like:

• Wills/living trusts,

• Retirement plans, or

• Payable on death (POD)/transfer on death (TOD) provisions

on brokerage or bank accounts

Take the next step

To learn more about ways to make a deferred gift, receive customized language to direct your commitment to a particular purpose within AHS, or to share your intentions, contact Geoff Hammond, associate director of gift planning, at 217-332-5714 or gh15@uif.uillinois.edu, or visit uif.giftplans.org

College of Applied Health Sciences

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